Minimum viable product: A robot solution to EOD operations
This paper presents the design and the development of an EOD robot, with MVP characteristics. The design is based on a solid base structure with an arm manipulator attached to the base. The overall dimensions of the robot are 590x860x340 mm and it weighs 55kg. The robot is capable of towing heavy objects as well as lifting sensitive objects. The robot has a maximum horizontal reach of 1400 mm and a vertical reach of 1200 mm. The robot is tested according to guidelines developed in the U.S.A., as much as the conditions allowed. Briefly, the results can be summarized as follows: the setup time for the robot is 10 minutes, it can reach speeds up to 8 km/h, it has a towing capacity of 40kg and the maximum communication reach is 20 meters. Among successful tests, the weaknesses were also found which act as a guide for future designs and developments. These weaknesses are what MVP concepts are actually developed for.